Lead by Example and Show Some Dignity!

[March 02, 2015] There is nothing more basic in the performance of leadership than showing others how to behave and do good works – lead by example. I work in the federal government and senior government officials understand this more than most. The outgoing U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder knows this too but he, like many others, has perpetuated a culture of political dishonesty in federal agencies. Yep, let’s call it what it is … stupidity. In his eyes, his failures were the result of his racist opponents. Such is the epitome of manipulation of the public for revenge and an unfortunate failure in senior leadership.

We see this form of manipulation more in government today and it should disgust good people – those of us who give up more of our hard earned money to pay for less and less honest government. For an example of dishonesty, Holder, in an interview with Politico tells us that it should be easier to criminally prosecute people for civil rights violations.1 This after having failed to prosecute in two high profile cases where white officers killed black young men. Of course, the standard of proof in all criminal cases is and has always been “beyond a reasonable doubt.” He wants exceptions to historical law because he sees the world through the eyes of someone who believes he was personally oppressed as a black man.

In his departure from the Justice Department he further claims to have saved the Department because it was in a “shambles” when he got there. From “political hiring, political firing, exclusion of career people from decision making for political reasons,” he sets himself up as the DoJ savior. So he tells us that he had to put in place people who “would share my – my view of what this department ought to be.”1 Of course what he has done is just as political as what he blames others of doing. All of us in government see this often. Holder just increased, not decreased, politicalization in the DoJ. One’s race now becomes a factor in hiring, firing, decision making, and how to decide cases. We still believe justice is blind in America, but not in Holder’s world where race factors in.

Eric Holder is smart, articulate, and well educated. He has succeeded on his own merits and doesn’t need to use race as a crutch or as a hammer. His introduction of racial politics was unnecessary but is consistent with a belief system of “racial oppression”. This is not moral leadership and he certainly did not act gracefully under fire. Holder is an example of how some government employees begin with good intentions but ultimately succumb to the ideology of racist oppression in the United States.

Eric Holder missed an opportunity to exit his position without acrimony and unnecessarily generating more animosity. My advice to Holder … please lead by example and show some dignity!

You can find me on the web. Just look and find my writings on “leadership”.

Author: Sadako Red

Disclaimer: I chose the pen name Sadako Red in order to remove any notoriety reflecting on my other real job as a very senior executive in the Department of Defense. Naturally, my opinion is my opinion only and despite DoD wanting to associate with my fine work, they cannot have it. Trust me, they want it. Trust me, they can’t stand for it.